In the latest sign of warming relations between the United States and Cuba, Washington has given permission for almost a million dollars’ worth of tools and building materials, to be shipped to Cuba to help complete a preservation center, at the American novelist Ernest Hemingway’s former home near Havana.

US assists Cuba in preservation of Ernest Hemingway\'s house

In the latest sign of warming relations between the U.S. and Cuba, Washington has given permission for almost a million dollars' worth of tools and building materials, to be shipped to Cuba to help complete a preservation center, at the American novelist Ernest Hemingway's former home near Havana. CCTV America's Michael Voss reports.

Hemingway’s Cuban legacy has become a symbol of how the two countries can overcome their differences and work together.

Finca Vigia, the house where Ernest Hemingway lived in Cuba, is now a museum restored to its original state with help from a foundation in the U.S.

Much of the funding came from major U.S. corporations including Caterpillar, Ford, AT&T and American Express.

“He loved Cuba. Hemingway became a symbol of how our two nations share cultural bonds of unity. Restoring and preserving Hemingway’s legacy for future generations dignifies and honors both Americans and Cubans,” Ada Rosa Alfonso, director of Hemingway Museum, said.

Now a new building is going up beside the original home. This will house a fully equipped conservation workshop and climate controlled storage area for all his documents.

Ernest Hemingway bought the house in 1940. It’s where he wrote his Nobel Prize-winning novel, “The Old Man and the Sea,” and wined and dined a constant stream of celebrity guests.

For more than half a century, his works have been stored in hot, humid conditions at risk from damp, mold and termites. This new conservation building is the first construction project in Cuba using modern U.S. building materials since 1950s.

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